The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-12-20
MODERN MAGICIANS.
A Description of Some of Their Won
derful Tricks

"a
derful Tricks.
FeIir OsaoaId in the December Cosmopolitan
When Frederick Gerstaecker accompanied
the Duke of Coburg to Eastern Africa, the
incognito of his sovereign friend was
dropped at Cairo where a German banker
treated them to dinner of fatherland fare
followed by AN exhibition of local talent:
fife concerts, Arabian dances, and legerde-
main. The exponent of the latter accom-
plishment produced copper dice-box and
repeatedly emptied it on the carpet, alterna-
ting his throws with predictions that were
lost upon the foreigners; but after a series
of similar preliminaries invited his audience
to an open terrace, and III the plain light
of the evening sun flung up
a number Of transparent balls that dis
appeared at an apparent height of some
eighty feet above the foot of the esplanade
The globes were colorless and pellucid like
white glass, but as light as gum, and were
repeatedly submitted to the examination of
the spectators. After passing from hand to
hand they were put in an open vessel shaped
somewhat like short-handled dipper, and
leaning back until his outstretched arm
nearly touched the ground, the wizard then
flung them straight up in the air, where
they could be seen glittering for moment
like icicles or large glass pearls. But
nobody ever saw them fall down
again, though the scene of the experiment
was surrounded by large, level lawn;
the air seemed to have swallowed them
like globes of dissolving vapor. Could they
have evaporated or exploded into a spray
of minute particles after the manner of
prince Rupert's drops'0! A sleight-of-
hand trick was clearly out of the question,
but more tenable explanation of the phe-
nomenon would have puzzled chemist as
much as an optlcian Gerstaecker tried in
vain to bride the wizard into hint ON the
composition of his missiles, and was not
much luckier in Batavia, where a Parsee
juggler treated the Dutch residents to a
novel matanZa, or killing show in the circus
of the old city bull-ring
His victims were a number of worthless
ours which their owners or captors had
brought along with the distinct understand
ing that their entries would not survive the
incidents of the performance. With no
weapon but light stick possibly tube),
some six feet long by an inch in diameter,
the performer entered the arena, and then
invited his patrons to start their pets, one
at time. A lank hound, almost hairless
with mango, opened the festivities by
making a rush round the ring, but
stopped short on finding his way
barred by the still tanker professor, and
retreated after displaying his few re-
naming teeth. The necromancer held his
SUdI db dlIIl lcllRbu, SJlll racing IDe QOR,
who presently began to stagger, and two
minutes after had expired IN commissions. A
! second cur managed TO run the blockade by
leaping over the extended staff, but soon
after began to show signs of distress, and
before the end of the third minute had
shared the fate of his predecessor Dog
after dog entered the ring in quick success
sion, some OF them stopping in surprise
and shifting at the corpses of their doomed
forerunners. but all finally approached
the possessot of the fatal secret, or even
snapped at his naked shins, and not
one of the thousand spectators saw him
strike a direct blow. or defend himself
in any way suggesting a mechanical ex-
PLANTATION of the uniform result. He would
| merely lift his staff with a menacing GEES
| ture or permit "a blocllade-runner to tou ch
! it in darting by, but in 10 instance was
there occasion for repeating that touch.
| The victims had harry time to complete the
! circuit of the ring before their gait under
went peculiar change; they would drag
themselves along and stagger, or start as
under sudden blow. then roll over and q G
| in the commissions characterizjng the effects
| of certain vilulent drugs They had evil
IDENTIFY been poisoned; but how! A post
norton inquest failed to reveal as much as
/ a scratch or a puncture. A poisoned
arrow could not have entirely
| disappeared, while gaseous poison
would have betrayed itself by its odor or
/ by lis effects on the person of the per-
| former. After the conclusion Of the ma
| tanza Mr.. Gerstaecker secured private in
terview with the artist, and in vain offered
] him a literal lnducement To explain the
mOdus Oper0ndf Of his trick The Parsee
sserned bribe prof, but at last took his
tesmpter aside, and in q whisper guaranteed
the results 81 bic professional assistance if
Mynheer shO1d wish ~ try the efficacy of
hls art Dy an experiment on "a two-legged
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